Senior Controls Engineer
Anduril Industries · Costa Mesa, CA
- Level
- Senior
- Team
- Controls
- Degree
- Required (or equivalent experience)
- Experience asked
- 8+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- 13 days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A senior controls role at Anduril Industries (aerospace & defense) in Costa Mesa, CA. Master's or PhD with thesis work in motor control, power electronics, or electric machine design.
- They ask for
- 8+ years · degree required (or equivalent experience)
- Tools it names
- Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ), Robotics, Automation
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Controls Engineer roles in California: typical posted base $124k–$179k.
Median of the low and high ends of 56 live postings that list pay, out of 109 controls engineer openings in California, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
California plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 108 other live controls postings in California.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- More than usual (8+ vs 5+)
Typical $124k–$179k, from 54 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Automation 66%
- PLC 47%
- ✓ Robotics 43%
- ✓ Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 38%
- Python 33%
- Root cause 20%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Controls team at Anduril Industries
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- 2
Send a short, curious note
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Write to Andy → (free) - 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
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- 5
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One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa
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Full description from Anduril IndustriesAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
requirements
- ✓Execute Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) testing using Embedded Coder auto-generated C code to verify fixed-point scaling, quantisation effects, and code-generation fidelity
- ✓Support Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) integration with real-time simulators (dSPACE, Typhoon HIL, or equivalent) for full controller board validation
- ✓Integrate Simulink auto-coded algorithm modules with the microcontroller RTOS, peripheral drivers, and application framework
Required qualifications
- ✓Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Mechatronics, or equivalent hands-on experience
- ✓8+ years of professional experience designing and implementing motor control algorithms (FOC, Trapezoidal, or equivalent) for BLDC or PMSM motors
- ✓Strong foundation in classical and modern control theory — PID tuning, frequency-domain analysis, state estimation, observer design
- ✓Proficiency in MATLAB / Simulink, PLECS for control design, motor modeling, and auto-code generation (Embedded Coder or equivalent)
- ✓Deep experience writing production-quality embedded code on microcontrollers with hard real-time motor control loops
- ✓Perform Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) integration with real-time simulators
- ✓Working knowledge of power electronics: three-phase inverter operation, PWM schemes, dead-time compensation, DC bus dynamics, and loss estimation
- ✓Hands-on experience with motor control peripherals — ADC triggering, encoder/Hall/resolver interfaces, PWM complementary outputs, hardware overcurrent comparators
- ✓Familiarity with communication protocols: CAN, SPI, I²C, UART, RS-485 etc
- ✓Strong bench skills — oscilloscope, current probe, frequency response analyzer, dynamometer or motor test stand
- ✓U.S. Person status is required as this position needs to access export-controlled data (ITAR / EAR)
Preferred qualifications
- ✓Master's or PhD with thesis work in motor control, power electronics, or electric machine design
- ✓Experience with sensorless control techniques at low speed and standstill (HFI, pulsating voltage injection)
- ✓Experience with SiC or GaN power device integration and high-switching-frequency inverter design
- ✓Experience with real-time simulation platforms (dSPACE, OPAL-RT, Typhoon HIL) for HIL validation
- ✓Background in defense, automation, automotive, aerospace, or robotics motor control applications — actuators, gimbal drives, electric propulsion
- ✓Experience with thermal modeling of motors and inverters, I²t protection, and derating algorithms
- ✓Active or ability to obtain a U.S. security clearance
$147,000 — $196,000 USD
Benefits
At Anduril, we invest in our people. Our comprehensive, competitive benefits package (available at little to no cost to employees) ensures you’re supported in health, recovery, a
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
Anduril Industries is a defense technology company with a mission to transform U.S. and allied military capabilities with advanced technology. By bringing the expertise, technology, and business model of the 21st century’s most innovative companies to the defense industry, Anduril is changing how military systems are designed, built and sold. Anduril’s family of systems is powered by Lattice OS, an AI-powered operating system that turns thousands of data streams into a realtime, 3D command and control center. As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril is committed to bringing cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the military in months, not years.
About the team
The Hardware Platform Organization is Anduril's central hardware engineering org. We build the shared technologies, tools, and infrastructure that power hardware development across every Anduril division, from actuators and propulsion to batteries, avionics, rocket motors, and test operations. Our teams set engineering standards, run development manufacturing and test sites, and develop core technology products that ship across multiple product lines.
Motor Control Algorithm Development
- •Design and implement field-oriented control (FOC), six-step commutation, and direct torque control algorithms for BLDC and PMSM motors
- •Develop sensorless rotor position estimation techniques (back-EMF observer, sliding-mode observer, high-frequency injection) for applications where Hall sensors or encoders are not viable
- •Design current, speed, and position control loops with rigorous bandwidth, stability margins, and disturbance rejection specifications
Modelling & Simulation (MIL / SIL / HIL)
- •Build high-fidelity motor and inverter plant models in MATLAB / Simulink, including magnetic saturation, iron losses, and thermal coupling
- •Develop controller models and validate performance through Model-in-the-Loop (MIL) simulation against
Firmware & Embedded Systems
- •Implement motor control firmware in C on microcontrollers (e.g., STM32, TI C2000, NXP S32K) with hard real-time constraints
- •Configure and optimise motor control peripherals: PWM timers, ADC synchronization, encoder/Hall interfaces, comparator-based overcurrent protection
- •Architect firmware for deterministic control loop execution — interrupt prioritization, DMA pipelines, and minimal-jitter scheduling
- •Implement fault detection, diagnosis, and safe-state management in firmware (overcurrent, over-voltage, over-temperature, sensor loss, stall, phase loss)
- •Develop communication interfaces (CAN, SPI, UART, RS-485) for command, telemetry, and diagnostics